Galley Talk

Karen Rosenthal, children's dept. mgr., R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Conn.

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 8/8/2005

I'm not usually a vampire book reader, but I haven't read a book in a long time that had as much sexual tension and creepy terror throughout as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer [Little, Brown]. The main character is extremely compelling. The protagonist is so consumed with her crush on him that she blocks everything else, and the fact that he's a vampire adds a whole other level.

It really is the perfect crossover book. It will appeal to kids who read fantasy and darker books, but also kids who like more realistic fiction like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and all those kids who read Gossip Girl. I would also give it to anybody who liked Uglies [Scott Westerfeld] or Maximum Ride [James Patterson]—it's a riveting action book but thoughtful as well. Sometimes teen books can be plot-driven and the quality of the writing goes out the window, but this one has both.

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